BELGRADE (Serbia) - The Meridian Qualification Rounds Tournament in Belgrade will give us one passenger to board the Basketball Champions League Regular Season flight. Teams from Serbia and Spain seem like the favorites, but keep an eye on the representatives from Austria, Estonia, Czech Republic and Denmark.

FMP Meridian are playing as the hosts in Belgrade. Rio Breogan had a marvelous season in Spain last season, while Bakken Bears and Opava are searching for a way back to the BCL Regular Season. Parnu Sadam will attempt to recreate the Kalev/Cramo magic of last season, and Swans Gmunden are trying to become the first Austrian team to reach the BCL.

Swans Gmunden

Who are they?

They are coming into the BCL as the runners up in the Austrian League. Swans Gmunden have been one of the best teams in the country in recent years, with the crowning moment coming in 2021, when they won their fifth national championship. They also claimed the Austrian Cup six times, and won the Supercup eight times. All 19 of their trophies came from 2003 to 2021.

 

Who to watch?

The preparation games usually had the three-headed monster of Urald King, Benedikt Guttl and Daniel Friedrich as the top scorers. King is especially effective, after dominating under the rims in Iceland and Finland, he found a way to Austria and just continued with business as usual. Keep an eye on Dominic Green, who just joined the squad, and Dwayne Lautier-Ogunleye, who played the FIBA EuroBasket 2022 with Great Britain.

What do they need to reach the Basketball Champions League Regular Season?

They consider themselves the underdogs of this group. In order to reach the Regular Season, coach Anton Mirolybov and his crew will have to defeat Parnu Sadam in the Quarter-Finals, Bakken Bears in the Semi-Finals and whoever advances from the other side of the draw in the Final.

Parnu Sadam

Who are they?

The upset package of the Estonian League. Parnu Sadam are a club that's just 22 years old, but already established themselves as a force to be reckoned with domestically. In 2022, they ended Kalev/Cramo's run of five straight championships, and won the national title for the first time in Parnu's history. They defeated Kalev/Cramo in the Semi-Finals, and swept Tartu in the Final.

 

Who to watch?

Andre Walker had a fine start to the 2021-22 season with Mykolaiv in Ukraine, getting 15 points, 6 assists and 5 rebounds across 27 games. A trip to Poland didn't see him recreate those numbers in Pszczolka Start Lublin, but coach Toomas Annuk hopes Andre's previous Baltic experience could make him a star once more. Walker played for Ogre in Latvia in 2020-21, getting 16 points per game.

What do they need to reach the Basketball Champions League Regular Season?

The same kind of panacea for the poison that Kalev/Cramo used last season to become one of the toughest Regular Season team in the BCL. Parnu Sadam have limited European experience, they will need to overcome it asap to advance from the Swans Gmunden/Bakken Bears part of the draw to the Final.

Bakken Bears

Who are they?

In 2022, they won their sixth consecutive title in Denmark, reaching the total of 20 Danish Championships won, 19 of those coming from 1997 to 2022. Bakken have been successful on the international stage, too, reaching the BCL Regular Season twice and the Semi-Finals of the FIBA Europe Cup three times since 2018.

 

Who to watch?

The Bears made it a habit of theirs to keep the core together over the years. Michel Diouf, Morten Sahlertz, Darko Jukic and Ryan Evans are returning, while Skyler Bowlin could be the newcomer to shine. The 33-year-old point guard had 10 points and 4 assists per game in Telekom Baskets Bonn last season, and he is the reason why Bakken's trophy count isn't higher than 20. Back in his Horsens days, he won the Danish double, while winning both the Basketligaen and the Danish Cup MVP awards in 2015.

What do they need to reach the Basketball Champions League Regular Season?

Coach Anders Sommer needs to take advantage of Bakken Bears' experience in this group. They are the team with the most European campaigns over the recent years, and the personnel is still there for the Danish champs. They await the winner of the Swans Gmunden v Parnu Sadam matchup, only two hurdles for them en route to Group Stage.

FMP Meridian

Who are they?

The hosts of this group, FMP Meridian are embarking on their first European adventure as the runners up in the Serbian League. The club started as Radnicki in Novi Sad in 1970, then moved to Belgrade in 2009 and changed the name to Radnicki Basket and to Radnicki FMP in 2011. The club finally became FMP in 2013, and played the Adriatic League since 2016, finishing in sixth spot twice.

 

Who to watch?

Coach Nenad Stefanovic has a lot of domestic firepower, but his international players could all have big seasons ahead of them. Beau Beech averaged 14 points per game in Poland last season, Trent Frazier is a rookie shooting guard, and Ebuka Izundu will be there for the highlight blocks and monster dunks, becoming a fan favorite in a year and a half in Belgrade.

What do they need to reach the Basketball Champions League Regular Season?

Take care of their own backyard. FMP Meridian are the hosts of the event in Belgrade, and have a tough task of facing Rio Breogan in the Quarter-Finals already. The winner of that one will face Opava in the Semis.

Rio Breogan

Who are they?

One of the feel-good teams of the season in Spain. Rio Breogan, based in Lugo and backed by 6500 people in every single game, finished the season in 11th spot in Spain, their best result since 2003, and reached the Final Eight of the Copa del Rey for the first time in 27 years. Rio Breogan are searching for their version of Hereda San Pablo Burgos' success over the past three years of the BCL.

 

Who to watch?

Coach Veljko Mrsic brought in a lot of players from the Adriatic League, but the two biggest signings seem to be Scott Bamforth and Ethan Happ. Bamforth spent the last two seasons in Le Mans in France, and had 22 points, 8 assists and 6 rebounds in Le Mans' attempt to reach the BCL last season. Happ is a BCL regular, having played it with Fortitudo Bologna, Dinamo Sassari and MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg, helping the latter reach the Final Four in Bilbao just five months ago.

What do they need to reach the Basketball Champions League Regular Season?

They need to use the wisdom of their players with the Adriatic League background to stun the hosts in the Quarter-Finals. A duel with Opava awaits in the Semi-Finals, not the easiest draw for Lugo in their first European season since 1986.

Opava

Who are they?

Reaching the Final in the Czech League and winning the Cup seems like the best option remaining with ERA Nymburk's dominance over the past 20 years. Opava painted the country yellow on four occasions, most recently in 2003, and their Cup title in 2022 was their sixth trophy of that sort. Overall, ten big pieces of silverware for a team that has a total of two non-Czech players. The Czech ones are usually all from the wider Opava region in the country.

 

Who to watch?

Dontay Bassett is the rookie center, coming off of two rock solid campaigns with the Weber State Wildcats. Jakub Sirina is their leader on the floor, he is entering his 14th season with the club, and averaged 15.3 points and 5.8 assists in the Czech League in 2021-22.

What do they need to reach the Basketball Champions League Regular Season?

They need to act like the underdog, despite the higher seed status in the draw. If they end up against Rio Breogan in the Semi-Finals, they could point the finger to the strength of the Spanish League, and if they end up playing against FMP Meridian, they could put the pressure on the hosts. Either way, Opava will be a dangerous team, searching for their second BCL Regular Season appearance.

The full schedule of the tournament in Belgrade is here. The winner of this group will advance to the Regular Season Group E, alongside MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg, Hapoel Bank Yahav Jerusalem and Darussafaka.